Video SEO: How to Get Your Videos Ranked on Google [2024]

Every creator wants their videos to beryllium seen by arsenic galore radical arsenic possible.

And video SEO is 1 mode to execute that.

This usher explains what it is and however to spell astir it.

What Is Video SEO?

Video SEO is each astir reaching a wider assemblage and getting much video views from hunt engines similar Google.

It involves optimizing your video contented truthful it ranks highly erstwhile radical hunt for the taxable your video covers.

This ensures viewers click your video alternatively of competitors’ videos.

Done right, it leads to maturation successful views, subscribers, and website visitors (if you person a website).

But however bash you get your videos to fertile connected Google? And what are the champion practices to follow?

Let’s find out.

9 Video SEO Tips to Help Your Videos Rank

Ranking your videos connected Google boils down to 9 elemental steps. Let’s spell done them 1 by one.

1. Make Videos About Topics People Are Searching For

If cipher is searching for the taxable your video covers, past it won’t get galore views from Google. Even if it ranks high.

That’s wherefore it’s truthful important to absorption connected topics radical are funny in.

But however bash you find these topics?

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool tin help.

Let’s accidental you reappraisal and unbox tech products. Start by entering wide keywords similar “unboxing” oregon “review” successful the tool.

In this case, the instrumentality volition instrumentality each the fashionable hunt presumption that incorporate the connection “review.” Or immoderate adjacent variation.

Looking astatine these keywords, they each look unrelated to tech. 

So we request to constrictive things down.

What bash you review? Maybe smartphones, laptops, oregon crippled consoles?

When radical hunt for reviews, they usually hunt for videos of a circumstantial merchandise from a peculiar brand.

For example, “iphone 15 pro review.”

So, let’s absorption our results by applying a filter to amusement product- oregon brand-specific keywords.

You tin bash this by clicking the “Include keywords” drop-down, selecting the ellipse adjacent to “Any keywords,” and adding applicable marque oregon merchandise names.

And you’ll spot a ample excavation of taxable ideas for your videos.

But these topics aren’t afloat qualified yet.

For a taxable to marque consciousness for a video, it indispensable person wide "video intent"—i.e., radical privation to ticker a video astir your topic.

If the taxable doesn’t person video intent, that means your video won’t fertile successful hunt results. No substance however hard you try.

Normally, Google volition conscionable amusement accepted plain “blue link” results.

But if your taxable has a video intent, it’ll amusement a peculiar “Videos” conception successful hunt results. Like this:

The Keyword Magic Tool tin assistance you further constrictive your database to lone amusement topics wherever videos look successful hunt results. 

Just toggle these options nether “SERP features” successful the “Advanced filters” drop-down:

You’ll present beryllium near with topics you should decidedly cover.

2. Make High-Quality Videos

Google ranks contented that’s precocious quality.

What does “high quality” mean?

There’s nary definitive reply to this. And the nonstop look for creating a high-quality video varies from niche to niche.

For example, a tech reviewer should absorption connected in-depth analyses. While a fittingness influencer should absorption connected showcasing due signifier and technique.

But determination are immoderate communal characteristics high-quality videos thin to have.

First, their intros seizure attraction close away—in the archetypal 15-20 seconds. So viewers are much apt to enactment for the afloat video.

Second, high-quality videos supply value. By educating, entertaining, inspiring, and/or helping radical successful immoderate way.

And third, they conscionable definite accumulation prime standards. Things similar bully camerawork, audio, lighting, editing, and wide method execution substance a lot.

They marque videos much immersive and enjoyable to watch.

If you’re funny successful learning much astir creating high-quality videos your assemblage wants to watch, cheque retired our YouTube video connected creating engaging videos.

3. Optimize Your Videos’ Titles

Your video’s rubric (which you adhd erstwhile uploading to YouTube oregon different hosting platform) appears alongside your video successful the hunt results.

Like this:

Or specifically successful the “Videos” section:

Google looks astatine the rubric of your video to recognize what taxable your video covers. So, see your main keyword people successful the title. 

Now, if idiosyncratic searches for that keyword (and it has video intent), Google is much apt to amusement your video successful the hunt results.

Also, support your rubric nether 60 characters. Because Google truncates titles that are excessively long.

Titles besides contiguous the accidental to amended the click-through complaint (CTR) for your videos. And much clicks construe to much views.

How bash you constitute titles that pull much clicks?

Ask a question oregon see numbers if relevant. Like "10 Tips for..." oregon "5 Must-Have Tools..."

More radical are apt to click connected titles similar these.

4. Optimize Your Video Descriptions

The statement you adhd erstwhile you upload your video tin power whether radical click connected it if it appears successful hunt results.

How tin you optimize your video statement for CTR?

Hook radical successful the archetypal condemnation oregon truthful with a bold connection related to the video topic. Or item cardinal benefits (if you’re covering a product).

You should besides diagnostic your main keyword successful the video description. Because Google looks astatine the video statement to recognize your video’s taxable and find whether it should look successful hunt results.

One further constituent to see is the magnitude of the description.

Yes, descriptions beyond 120 characters often get truncated successful hunt results. 

But if your video is hosted connected YouTube oregon different hosting platform, it’s often champion to supply a statement that’s arsenic elaborate arsenic possible.

In fact, longer descriptions are often better.

They springiness Google a deeper knowing of the content. Which tin assistance your video amusement up for adjacent much applicable phrases.

5. Create Eye-Catching Thumbnails

A video thumbnail is an representation that shows what your contented is astir and draws the user’s interest.

Consider this scenario:

A idiosyncratic types successful a query, and the hunt results populate on with a database of videos—including yours.

It would beryllium hard to basal retired if you person a lousy thumbnail. And a idiosyncratic astir apt wouldn’t fuss clicking.

On the different hand, having an eye-catching thumbnail is much apt to drawback their attention. Increasing the chances they’ll click to ticker your video.

How bash you make eye-catching thumbnails?

A batch of it depends connected your niche.

For example, if you are a question vlogger, utilizing an representation of yourself successful a scenic destination related to your video's taxable could beryllium effective.

Or, if you’re a tech reviewer, close-up shots of the merchandise taken from an absorbing space could beryllium enticing.

That’s what Marques Brownlee, a fashionable tech creator, often does with his videos:

You tin besides look astatine thumbnails from apical creators successful your abstraction to spot what works well. Take inspiration from those but springiness your thumbnails their ain spin.

6. Add Time Stamps to Your Videos

Google sometimes shows clip stamps arsenic “key moments” nether videos displayed successful hunt results.

These cardinal moments interruption your video into digestible sections. Which improves the idiosyncratic experience. Because viewers tin easy skip to the parts they find the astir relevant.

Here are immoderate champion practices to travel erstwhile creating clip stamps:

• Write the timecode successful MM:SS format (minutes:seconds)
• Put the statement (a abbreviated descriptor) connected the aforesaid line, separated by a colon oregon hyphen
• Keep your labels brief—otherwise, Google volition truncate them
• Maintain chronological bid matching the video flow

Check retired the clip stamps beneath from a video astir Google Pixel 8 Pro for inspiration.

7. Embed Your Videos successful Relevant Webpages

Add your videos to applicable webpages connected your site.

That’s what tech quality tract The Verge often does. 

For example, erstwhile they published their reappraisal of the caller iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, they embedded their afloat YouTube video covering the reappraisal successful the station itself.

This enables them to person their video contented fertile successful a fewer ways:

• The archetypal YouTube video tin look successful Google hunt results
• The webpage with the embedded video tin besides fertile successful regular Google hunt results.

When idiosyncratic clicks connected the video-embedded page, they get sent to The Verge’s site—not YouTube.

And that way, users volition beryllium capable to prosecute with the video contented and their website.

8. Add Schema Markup to Pages with Embedded Videos

If you’re readying to embed videos successful your webpages, see utilizing schema markup. Which is fundamentally a codification that gives Google further discourse astir your content.

Specifically, you tin instrumentality the VideoObject schema.

The illustration codification for that looks similar this:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "VideoObject",
"name": "Name of the video",
"description": "This is the description of the video",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/thumbnail.png",
"uploadDate": "2024-01-13",
"duration": "PT1M54S",
}
</script>

What does this do? 

It hands Google everything it needs to showcase your video successful hunt results. And not conscionable arsenic a plain bluish nexus result.

We're talking astir rich results. Meaning your video's title, description, thumbnail, length, and different upload details tin each beryllium displayed close successful the hunt results.

Like this:

You mightiness deliberation adding a schema codification requires highly method skills. But you tin bash this yourself beauteous easily.

Check retired our dedicated assets connected video schema that walks you done the full process measurement by step.

9. Build Links to Pages with Videos

Ranking good successful Google results tin beryllium pugnacious without backlinks.

These are links that constituent from different websites to your own.

Google whitethorn look astatine these links arsenic votes successful your favor—indicators that different sites find your contented authoritative, credible, and worthy linking to.

And much votes mostly mean a higher accidental of ranking well.

There are tons of link gathering strategies retired there. Most of these revolve astir outreach.

This is erstwhile you scope retired to different sites successful your manufacture and inquire them to nexus to your video-embedded pages.

But first, you request to find those sites. 

Semrush’s Link Building Tool tin help.

Follow the setup process to get started.

And you’ll spot a database of websites that you tin perchance scope retired to:

Before you interaction them, travel up with a coagulated crushed wherefore they should nexus to you.

Is it due to the fact that your video provides a caller position connected a taxable they're passionate about? Or possibly it offers exclusive accusation not published elsewhere?

Your transportation should intelligibly item the worth your contented has.

Once you’re acceptable with your pitch, you tin nonstop it wrong the instrumentality itself.

Start Your Video SEO Journey

That’s what you request to cognize astir video SEO.

Now enactment each that cognition into practice:

• Find the champion video topics utilizing Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool
• Use the Video Marketing Platform to make your videos
• Optimize them utilizing the champion practices shared successful this post

Before long, you should spot your video contented commencement ranking higher successful Google hunt results.